Healthcare organizations can send HIPAA compliant educational newsletters to engage patients, provide health tips, and promote services while safeguarding privacy. To ensure compliance, they must obtain patient consent, avoid including PHI, use HIPAA compliant email providers with encryption, and include clear opt-out options.
Why send newsletters to patients?
Healthcare newsletters provide patients with educational content on health tips, preventive care, and clinic news. Newsletters can also help promote new services, raise awareness about seasonal health issues, or remind patients about upcoming appointments. According to a Journal of Health Economics study, “A major obstacle to efficient health care delivery is no shows; patients who fail to show up for scheduled appointments without cancelation in time to allow for rescheduling of their appointment slot.”
Appointment reminder emails mitigate this obstacle by making sure patients remember their upcoming medical appointments. These emails help reduce no-show rates, making sure patients arrive on time and come prepared with the necessary documents, medications, or fasting requirements.
HIPAA and email communication
HIPAA sets guidelines on how protected health information (PHI) can be shared, including through email. PHI is any information that can identify a patient, such as their name, medical conditions, treatments, or healthcare provider details. According to the HHS, "The Privacy Rule allows covered health care providers to communicate electronically, such as through e-mail, with their patients, provided they apply reasonable safeguards when doing so." Even when sending something as simple as a newsletter, healthcare organizations need to ensure their emails are HIPAA compliant.
Steps to ensure HIPAA compliance for newsletters
- Obtain patient consent and opt-in: Healthcare providers must obtain explicit consent from patients before sending any email, especially newsletters. Implement a clear opt-in process where patients can willingly subscribe to receive newsletters. An easy way to handle this is by including an email subscription option on your website or intake forms, clearly explaining what kind of content they’ll receive.
- Avoid including PHI: Stick to general health education, clinic updates, or public health tips. If the email content relates to individual patients (e.g., appointment reminders or specific health advice), it may cross the line into PHI and require extra security measures and authorizations. It’s best to keep newsletter content general to avoid compliance issues.
- Use HIPAA compliant email service providers: Using a standard email platform is not enough. You need to choose an email provider that offers encryption and signs a business associate agreement (BAA), which is a HIPAA requirement for any third party handling PHI.
- Encryption and secure communication: Even if you aren’t sharing PHI in the newsletter, keep patient communications secure. Encryption ensures that even if an email is intercepted, its contents remain unreadable. Many HIPAA compliant email platforms offer built-in encryption, protecting the delivery and storage of email data.
- Provide unsubscribe options: HIPAA and email marketing laws require that patients have control over the communications they receive. Including a clear and easy-to-use unsubscribe option in every newsletter enhances patient trust and ensures compliance. Failing to provide this option can result in legal penalties and harm your patient-provider relationship.
Read more: HIPAA compliant email marketing: What you need to know
What you need to know about HIPAA and marketing
If your newsletter includes promotional content, such as information about new treatments or services, you may need to obtain additional patient authorization. The HIPAA privacy rule defines marketing as “a communication about a product or service that encourages recipients of the communication to purchase or use the product or service.” Including marketing content without patient authorization can result in non-compliance, even if no PHI is used.
Security features for HIPAA compliant email providers
- Encryption: Ensures that email contents are secure and unreadable if intercepted.
- Access controls: Limits who can access sensitive information within the email system.
- Audit logs: Keeps track of who accessed emails and when, helping with compliance monitoring.
- Business associate agreement (BAA): A must-have to ensure the provider protects patient data following HIPAA.
- Multi-factor authentication: Adds an extra layer of security by requiring an additional form of verification for access.
- Regular security updates: Ensures the email provider’s security measures are current and effective against threats.
- HIPAA compliance maintenance: Confirms that the provider continually adheres to HIPAA regulations and standards.
FAQs
What types of content can I include in a HIPAA compliant newsletter?
You can include general health tips, wellness information, clinic updates, and community health events as long as they do not contain PHI or specific patient details.
What should I do if a patient asks to opt out of receiving newsletters?
You must honor their request immediately and provide an easy way for them to unsubscribe from future communications, ensuring compliance with HIPAA and email marketing regulations.
Are there any penalties for sending non-compliant newsletters?
Yes, sending newsletters that violate HIPAA regulations can result in fines, legal consequences, and damage to your organization’s reputation.
Read more: HIPAA compliant newsletter tips and best practices